Epidemiology: Theory, study design, and planning for education

Abstract

Many health professionals have received formal training in epidemiology; however, much of it has been limited to introductory courses at the undergraduate level. Further, continuing education for health professionals has focused historically on substantive rather than methodologic issues in epidemiology. A methodologic focus is recommended to improve continuing education for the health of the public. It is crucial to equip educators and health professionals with the necessary tools or resources to understand study design, conduct research, analyze and interpret data, and critically evaluate published research. Thus, in this article, a general overview of epidemiologic study design and some of the most common methodologic issues are presented. Issues such as confounding, effect modification, measurement error, and power and sample size are highlighted. A broader recognition of these issues by educators and health professionals may ultimately help to improve public health by facilitating effective educational interventions, proper study design, analysis, interpretation, and application of epidemiologic research.

Evaluation of a professional development course on research methods for healthcare professionals

“…It was determined that an impact evaluation would serve to assess the efficacy of the professional development program in achieving its objectives, as well as to improve the quality and implementation of the program itself. 28 In addition, there is little focus on the application of epidemiology and biostatistics in traditional continuing education curriculums, 29 as it is relatively recent and thus provides an opportunity to modify and evaluate the curriculum and its delivery. Furthermore, there was a need to evaluate whether SPICEþB as a program fully addresses the gaps healthcare professionals have identified in understanding and applying evidence-based healthcare.…”

Epidemiological study design and the advancement of equine health

“…Epidemiological studies can be observational or experimental; the former can be further categorised as descriptive or analytic. Reviews of basic designs considering strengths and weaknesses have been published related to human conditions (Chuang and Reizner 1993;Balkau and Eschwege 1995;Freudenheim 1999;Harris 2000;Stephenson and Babiker 2000;Baxter 2001;Grimes and Schulz 2002d). Observational studies are ones in which the investigator does not assign a treatment or exposure to the study participants for the expressed purpose of the research.…”

Continuing medical education, needs assessment, and program development: Theoretical constructs

“…It can be a helpful CME impact evaluation and public assurance resource as rates of change in health status may be studied in populations served by health care professionals who are able to influence outcomes through their interventions. 49 Lockyer 50 notes several US-based examples where initiatives are under way to provide better population health data for planning purposes. The Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research, for example, is involved in several databases, including the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, which is a federal-state-industry partnership to achieve standardized, multistate health data and provide patient-level information in a uniform format.…”

“…Population health/epidemiologic data can be used to identify real, hidden, blind, and comparative needs. 49 • Use of quality improvement/quality assurance data. Linking patient satisfaction, complaints, and quality processes and data is another helpful source of CME planning information.…”